Korean and foreign stars attended the opening ceremony of the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) held on Oct. 5 at the Busan Cinema Center.
This is the first time since 2020 that the BIFF is being held without social distancing after Covid-19 restrictions were eased.
In addition, organizers have decided to implement 100 percent seating capacity unlike in past BIFFs.
Ryu Jun-yeol of “Reply 1988” and Jeon Yeo-bin of “Vincenzo” hosted the opening ceremony.
Stars who attended the opening ceremony include Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai who received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award, Song Kang-ho, Mario Maurer, Jung Hae-in Jung Il-woo, Park Hae-il, Taecyeon, Byun Yo-han, Ku Hye-sun, Kim Gyuri, Kim Young-kwang, Park Ji-hoon, Shin Ha-kyun, Han Ji-min, Kim Yoo-jung, Han Yeri, Heo Sung-tae, Jeon Jong-seo, Jin Seon-kyu and Jin Kyung.
The BIFF will be held from Oct. 5 to 14 with 353 films to be screened.
For the official selection, there are 242 films from 71 countries including 101 films for world and international premieres. For the community BIFF, there are 111 films.
"Tickets for the opening ceremony have been sold out. We hope the total attendance fully recovers to pre-pandemic levels, but certain audiences are still hesitant about coming to theaters. We expect seat occupancy rates to reach nearly 80 to 90 percent of levels seen in 2019," festival director Huh Moon-yung said, Yonhap News reported.